The number of iPad users in the US will rise by over 90% in 2012 to 53.2 million, as loyal users replace older models and new consumers purchase the device, according to eMarketer. 

That level of growth is down significantly from last year's 143.9% jump, and will continue to decline; by 2015, the number of iPad users will rise by just under 12%. By then, more than one-third of all US internet users will have such a device.

US iPad users, 2010-2015:
- 2010: 11.5 million 
- 2011: 28.0 million (+143.9%)
- 2012: 53.2 million (+90.1%)
- 2013: 70.5 million (+32.6%)
- 2014: 81.1 million (+15.1%)
- 2015: 90.8 million (+11.9%)

Compared to iPads, overall tablet penetration is rising more quickly and will reach 29.1% of internet users by the end of this year, but growth will still fall off to 11.9% by 2015.

In 2012, the iPad will continue to be in the hands of more than three-quarters (76.4%) of all tablet users in the country, but by 2015 the percentage is expected to fall down to 68.0%. 

Broken down by age, the fastest growth among tablet users as a whole will come in the under-12 and 65-and-older age groups, which have relatively low penetration compared with other groups. Those most likely to use a tablet will remain between the ages of 25 and 44, among whom around one-third of the total population will use a tablet in 2012.

eMarketer estimates more than half of tablet users this year to be men (54%), but by the end of the forecast period the gender split is expected to be even. Asians, at 26.2% penetration in 2012, are the most likely racial or ethnic group to use a tablet, followed by Hispanics, at 24%. This compares with 21.4% of whites and 21.5% of blacks.